


Long May They Reign

by BabyBooAsh



Category: Brave (2012), HTTYD, How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), ROTBTD - Fandom, Rise of The Brave Tangled Dragons - Fandom, Rise of the Guardians (2012), RotG, Tangled (2010), The Big Four - Fandom, httyd 2 - Fandom
Genre: Death, F/M, Gore, Torture, Trigger Warnings, Violence, War, War AU, graphic descriptions of death and war
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-30
Updated: 2014-09-04
Packaged: 2018-02-15 09:44:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2224401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabyBooAsh/pseuds/BabyBooAsh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four Kingdoms locked in war for over sixteen years must now join together, after the death of the four Kings who started the war, to stop a force greater than all of them, Drago Bludvist and his army of Dragons. The new kings and queens must end the war they were the cause of and put their differences aside or their people will die. Queen Merida, King Hiccup, King Jackson and Queen Zel, nicknamed Rapunzel for her long hair, they are the only ones who can stop the enemies that threaten their kingdoms and bring peace. Their friendship will be tried as well as their own sanity. Can they stop Drago and his army while King Pitch is threatening to take over all four kingdoms from the inside? Romance, friendship, betrayal and hurt. Can they survive the war in their hearts before they can survive the war around them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

War. That was all there was now. No child was born with a certainty that they would live, no woman was guaranteed to live through the night without being raped or kidnapped. But this was how it had been for years, the smell of corpses hung in the air for so long that now people had evolved to ignore it. All this war and all because of four young royals, the four children of the four Kings who ruled the four lands. But now, sixteen years later and the end of the war close, the four children will meet again, but not how they ever thought.

* * *

 

**Merida’s POV**

Merida stood there as the servants who had raised her strapped her armour on, it wasn’t too heavy, but it was lighter than the wooden armour she had trained in for years though. It was silver and had Merida’s Family’s Sigel on the chest piece, the markings coloured green and brown to stand out. She wore my family mark proudly, it was her heritage, her home, her prized possession. It was the home she grew up in, not matter how rugged and rough it was, it was still her home. Merida’s trousers were strapped tightly and her thigh guards were put in place, they were made of leather for riding on Angus and to protect her. She had armour under them, it was thin and felt like material but Merida knew it was strong. She also knew her mother had made sure she had it incase Merida is captured, so they will have a harder time getting to her body. She looked down at the trousers, they were brown with black strings and thread in them. She could slightly make out the armour beneath them and bit her lip, if she was captured there was no doubt that she would be raped and tortured, she knew the risk as did her mother and father.

The servants stepped back, putting her boots in front of her, she looked at her old hunting boots and smiled softly, she stepped off the step she had been standing on and pulled the shoes on, tying them tightly and moved her ankles a bit to make sure they were comfortable. Merida felt one of the servants come behind her, clipping her dark green cloak around her so that she would be warm and so that she would be concealed. Merida looked back at the servant and examined her almost jet black eyes, they had always been so dark the brown the colour of soiled ink almost. She always liked her the most, she was the one who never spoke, her tongue cut out for treason before she came to Dunbroch. She stroked Merida’s face, her old, wrinkled lips stretching into a smile of encouragement. She smiled back and nodded, turning away from her and went to the mirror. Merida’s hair was in a braid, not all of it would stay so mainly the bottom is braided, a brown cloth wrapped around it so it was straight. Her blue eyes stared back at her, they looked afraid but also determined, they showed she was ready to finish the war that she had helped start, and she was. Her sheath of arrows was strapped to her waist with a leather belt, it was heavy with all the arrows in it, more were in Angus’ saddle, hidden from the enemies. She grabbed her bow and pulled it over her head so it rested on her shoulder, the string across her chest. The sword was strapped to her belt and all the small daggers were hidden in her armour, boots, and trousers. She was ready for war, she was ready to die to stop this era, she was ready to save her people.

“Get Angus ready, I leave at sunset.” The young queen spoke an order to the guard by the door, her flame locks bouncing as she turned to look at him. “And keep Hubert and Hamish locked with my mother so they don’t come after me.” He nodded and left, the servants standing by Merida with their heads down as Merida examined herself in the mirror.

“King Stoick is dead, your majesty.” The one servant piped up, an envelope in her hands, “Our man inside the Berk fortress sent us an eagle last night, but it wasn’t one of our men that killed him, it was one of their beasts.” Merida took the envelope and read it, her eyes narrowed as she read.

**_“My Queen I have news from Berk, King Stoick the Vast is dead. The mad man Drago Bludvist has returned and has brought his army of Dragons with him, he killed the king and he now is coming for you. He has lost some of his control on the dragons but not many, he cannot be stopped alone. He can control the Vikings’ beasts like he owns them, you must get the treaty sorted soon, M’lady, or there won’t be anyone left to fight with. Prince Hiccup has taken the crown and he is more willing to stop this war than his father was. I have no word from our contacts in Corona and Burgess yet, but I will send a raven there soon. I hope you and your family are well, My Queen. Eret.”_ **

Merida reread the letter over and over before growling, scrunching the letter up in her hands, walking to the fire and threw it into the fire in anger. Drago Bludvist, she thought she would never see him again last time she saw him. Why has he come out of hiding? Why has he appeared now? And he has killed another king now, what is he playing at? She spun around and pulled open the door, heading up to her mother and brothers. Her sword smacking against her thigh as she strut up the stairs, pushing open the door to the bedroom her mother never left. “Mum?” She asked softly, it was dark in there and she could hear soft singing, her mother must be singing to her brothers. She sighed and closed her eyes, pushing the rest of the door open and walked in, walking to the curtains and pulled them open, the light of the afternoon shining in.

“Merida! What are you doing?” Her mother snapped, her voice gruff and tired. Merida turned and sighed internally at the sight in front of her. Her mother was in bed, her once long hair now short and ragged from where she had cut it with a knife. She had her nightgown on that she had worn for the past four weeks, it was wrinkled and filthy now, her room even smelt but Merida had grown used to it. Hubert and Hamish were lying either side of her, their heads rested on her shoulders as she held them close. They had been crying again, Merida could tell.

“I’m leaving.” Merida stated, walking over to the door and shut it, “I came to say goodbye.” She walked to the bed and sat on it, Hubert moving to her and crawled into her lap, hugging her tightly.

“Please don’t go…” He whispered in her ear, his voice trembling and his breath ragged, he had definitely been crying.

“I have to… Drago is coming back here, I have to make a treaty with the four kingdoms or we will all die.” She replied, stroking his red hair lovingly. Her eyes on Elinor who was holding Hamish close, it was so odd seeing them without Harris, but Merida couldn’t dwell on it or mourn, she was the queen and she had to protect not only her family but also her people. “I can’t have any of you end up like dad or Harris, I need you alive so that if I die then you can take over the throne.” She said pushing him back gently so he was looking into her eyes, “you are the next in line so I need you to look after mom and Hamish for me. Can you do that?” She asked stroking his cheek, wiping away a tear from his cheek.

He nodded, sniffing loudly, “Aye… I can do it.” He said, trying to sound brave before he hugged her again, burying his head in her lap. Merida stroked his head gently before looking up to see her mother’s dead eyes glaring at her. Merida had gotten used to that look, it was the look she got every time she visited her mother. “You are a fool to think they will agree to this.” Elinor said in an emotionless tone, her wrinkles under her eyes stretching under the glare. “They will laugh at you for even suggesting it and then they will capture you.” She said stuff like this all the time now, telling Merida she would die in battle and she would be violated, etc. Merida was hurt at the beginning but she didn’t feel anything about it anymore. “And you will be their toy to play with, especially those filthy Vikings.” She growled, Hamish whimpered and crawled away from Elinor, crawling next to Hubert on Merida’s lap.

“Be quiet, mum. You are scaring the boys.” Merida’s harsh tone surprising the former queen. “You need to look after your children, dad is dead, Harris is dead. Do you really want your other sons to die too?” She stroked her brother’s head as they clung to her.

“We will all die one day, so why not now?” Elinor asked with a tilt of her head, her short hair staying in place from being so dirty. She disgusted Merida, Merida used to look up to her mother for staying strong when her father died but she detested her now for how she lost her mind when Harris died months ago. Merida had to take over the crown and took on the role as her brother’s mother.

“Because we may die someday but I plan on watching them live until they are old.” She stood and picked up the two ten year olds in her arms, looking at her mother in disgust. “But you will not see them, you can only see your children under my observation, you are poisoning their minds.” She walked to the door, Hubert and Hamish watching their mother. “You aren’t the only one who lost them, you know? They may be gone but we are still here.” Merida looked back at her mother sadly, Elinor looked at her with wide eyes, her mouth agape. Merida shook her head and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Hubert and Hamish clung to her as she walked to their room, tucking them in their beds and stroked their head. “I have to go… But I don’t want you lads going to mum, ok?” She said softly, they nodded their heads softly as they looked up at her. “She isn’t well and she is affecting you two.” She paused, “I’ll be back in a few weeks at the least, Mordi will look after you two, treat the lass nicely. The servants will make you anything you want, you just have to ask.” As she spoke the two greyhounds came in, jumping onto the twins’ bed and curled up, one by next to a different boy. “And they will also look after ya. If anything happens then send an eagle to me and I will reply, it will either be with the same eagle or a Raven, do you understand?” They both nodded again. She placed a kiss on both of their heads and stroked their cheeks, “I love both of you, stay safe and stay alive. And if you get lost?” “Follow the wisps.” Both of them finished the saying, smiling small. Merida smiled back at them before getting to her feet.

“I’ll be back… Hopefully.” She said watching them for a second before walking out, heading out of the castle, passing the guards on her way. “Don’t let my mother out of her room and don’t let me brothers into her room. She is to see no one without me being there. She is no longer the queen, she has no say.” The guard nodded and went off. Merida headed outside, the sun low in the sky, almost behind the mountains surrounding them. “Gods be kind.” She whispered as she took the three notes out of her armour, attaching it to three Eagles and sent them off. “Please get there… Please let him come.” She watched the eagles fly off, her hands clenched in fists.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Hiccup’s POV

It was night when the eagle arrived, the stars were shining bright as the flaming, seven foot wide flaming torches were lifted up to ward off the unwanted dragons of the night. The dragons that lived on Berk were used to the torches, they used them to their advantage when the enemy attacked. Hiccup saw the small bird in the distance and narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what bird it was. When he saw that it was an eagle he gasped, running to an open area and whistled for it, his arm out for it to land on. The Eagle gripped onto his arm, making him cringe as its talons dug into his skin. He saw the green string around its leg and felt his heart stop.

“Merida…” He whispered, the memories of being with her as children filled his mind. Of her flame locks and her big blue eyes. She had stood up for him when Snotlout was bullying him for being so tiny, Merida was just as small but she had an attitude thrice her size. She knocked out Snotlout’s first baby tooth and smacked him around a bit. Hiccup was wary of the young princess at first but he soon couldn’t bear not being by her side. He may have been a year older than her but it didn’t bother him, he liked being her friend. He even got on better with her than Zel and Jack, Jack always played tricks on him and Zel always tried to wrap him in her hair, she thought he was too small for his age, even though he was two years older than her. But then the fight happened between Merida’s father and his own, then Jack’s father and Zel’s father got involved, and he was dragged away, never seeing Merida again. His last memory of her was her being carried away by her father, her screaming for him to let her go as she looked at Hiccup sadly. He called for her and she called back, his last memory of her was of her calling his name with her tiny arm out for him as tears slid down her face.

He undid the string and pulled the note from the Eagle’s leg, unfolding it and smiled at the messy handwriting before him. She finally wrote to him, but if she was then something must have happened to her mother, he knew Merida’s father was dead but he had heard nothing of her mother.

**_“Hiccup_ **

**_I am writing to you to give my condolences on your father, I know what it is like to lose your father and I am truly sorry. But I am not only writing to say that, I am writing to say that I want to make a treaty. We need to stop this war once and for all. My mother has lost her mind and has been bedded for the past six months, I have been ruling as queen for those six months and have been trying to fix the mess my parents made here in Dunbroch. But now that Drago has shown himself again and has killed the last of the kings who started this war, I think we must end it now and join together to stop Drago before he kills all of us and all of our people. I know this is a hard time for you but I need to see you, I have sent out my Eagles to Rapunzel and Jack as well, I have said to meet at the islands we used to visit as children. Please come, Hiccup. We have to end this war._ **

**_Merida.”_ **

Hiccup read the letter over and over in his head, trying to absorb all of it. Merida was the queen now? He had always known she would become queen but not until later on when her parents were dead! And Elinor… Lost her mind? What could have brought on that? He had heard a rumour that one of her brother’s had died but he assumed it was just that, a rumour. He folded the letter and slid it into his armour, walking back to the hall where Toothless was standing there, watching him with curious green eyes. “Hey bud… We’re going on a trip, I want you to eat up, alright? We leave in one hour.” He said scratching his Dragon’s head who nodded, licked his lips and bounced off to the dragon feeding pen, dunking his face into the pile of fish. Hiccup chuckled, shaking his head. He grabbed his satchel and headed up the stairs of the hall, he needed to get some food and a pouch of water. His leg clicked as he walked up the stone stairs, he had gotten so used to the noise and the feeling of walking with a metal leg now that he didn’t even notice it most of the time. But tonight he was noticing the clicking sound very easily, why was that? He knew why, it was because of the note… Merida had written to him, he couldn’t believe it. He had wanted to stop this war for years now, and he finally had someone on his side. He hoped Jack and Zel would agree, Zel had always been peaceful, she never fought when they wrestled as kids, she would always try to heal them when hurt themselves, so he couldn’t see her not agreeing. But Jack might be a problem, he was a trickster and he would want terms, he could see Jack and Merida butting heads in the future. He entered the hall and avoided the Vikings that were drinking and talking war stories, Hiccup had withdrawn all of his men from the war after his father died, he wanted everyone home and out of this war. He got to the food table and started packing his satchel, he put a few loaves of bread, some fruit and some vegetables. He wrapped them and packed a pouch of water, he could refill at the springs on the island. He turned to leave and walked right into Astrid who was standing behind him with her arms crossed over her chest, a look of irritation on her face.

“H-hey Astrid… Hey… Astrid.” He said nervously, trying to get past her. She grabbed him by his armour and stopped him from moving.

“Where are you going?” She demanded, her tone hard and, yes there it was, the irritation. “I saw an Eagle outside, why is there a Dunbroch bird here?”

“Merida sent me something, we are making a treaty.” He said, shrugging her hand off with a frown, Astrid was one of the only people that didn’t treat him like the king, she treated him like Hiccup. But today she was treating him like he was the enemy.

“What? You can’t meet her! It’s obviously a trap. You can’t go.” She stated plainly, grabbing Hiccup’s bag. “Those vermin are not to be trusted.”

“She is not vermin.” He hissed, snatching his bag back and pushed past her, his expression dark. He was bigger now, he was a good fighter and he was the king. He had to protect Merida like she protected him, he had to repay her. “And you don’t tell me what to do.” He said bitterly.

“I can, I am your girlfriend.” She said angrily, running after him and stepping in front of him. He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“We are not dating anymore, how many times do I have to tell you?” He exclaimed in annoyance, “I broke up with you months ago!” They had broken up because of Astrid’s possessiveness and her dominance on him, but he knew deep down it was because of something else…

“No, you are just clouded by your father’s death, and doing this is just as stupid.” She said as she reached for the bag again. Hiccup grabbed her wrist in a tight grip, he wasn’t hurting her but his grip was steel. He looked down at her with dark green eyes, he was sick of this.

“I am the King, I make the decisions, not your or anyone else. I am stopping the war my father stupidly help start, I am stopping all of the violence once and for all.” He said in a hard voice, he was sick of this, he just wanted the death to stop. He wanted his dad back and he wanted to just curl up and ignore everyone but he couldn’t he had a kingdom to look after and he had a war to decide whether he will fight in it or whether he will help stop it. He had to stop Drago too, he had so much on his mind, but the thing that was making it a little clearer was Merida…

“I am going, my mother is in charge.” He said letting go of her wrist and walked down the steps to Toothless, clipping the satchel on the Dragon’s saddle and climbed on his back. Astrid was still standing there, watching Hiccup in shock. Hiccup put his helmet on and clipped his metal leg to Toothless’ saddle.

“She’s poison.” Astrid called, Hiccup looked back at her, looking through the eyeholes with furrowed brow. “She is poisoning your mind. She will be the death of you.” With that she left, Hiccup watched her before looking down at the handles on the saddle. He knew exactly who she was talking about and she was right, Merida was poison, but he had made her poison to him, he knew that.

Toothless took off into the sky and flew up over the clouds, looking back at Hiccup who was looking out at the sky with unfocused eyes. He was wondering how much Merida had changed, she must be beautiful and her hair must still be wild and firey like before. He smiled at the memory of her, her smile was so innocent, her eyes so full of wonder and a hunger for adventure. How she would bounce around happily, telling him about the Will O’ the Wisps and how she wanted to find them. Her accent was his favourite, he had grown used to Scottish accents from his father but with Merida it was different all together, she was so delicate but she was so fierce. Her voice boomed through, it was so soft but it spoke strong and clear, there was no changing Merida’s mind once she made it up. He smiled at the memories of her, she had been his best friend, he loved being with her because she accepted him as he was. All four of the children were different so they belonged together but Hiccup felt more at home with Merida, she was being raised to be a warrior like Hiccup was being raised except Merida had begged for it while Hiccup had begged to not be raised that way.

Toothless gurgled softly causing Hiccup to snap out of it and look down at Toothless who was watching Hiccup. “Sorry Bud, I was just thinking about someone I used to know… Let’s go stop this war.” He petted Toothless’ neck and grabbed the handles, changing the direction of the tail fin and headed towards the island he had memories all those years ago. “Let’s just hope we can…”


	3. Chapter 3

**Jack’s** **POV**

Jackson Overland Frost was well known for his abilities, but not many people knew how he came to have them, many had heard rumours but none knew the real reason, except for three people he hadn’t seen in 16 years. To people he was known as the Ice sorcerer or the Frosted King, he hated the last one, he preferred The Frozen Trickster out of all the names, it best described him.

He had snow white hair, pale skin with a few freckles, and bright blue eyes that if you looked close enough you could see a pattern of a snowflake in them. He looked different to when he was born though, when he was born he had chocolate brown eyes and deep brown hair with warm coloured skin, but he grew sick, very sick. His parents prayed to the gods and were gifted with a cure for their son, but it came with a price, all the warmth was drawn from his skin, the colour drawn from his hair until white and the warm brown of his eyes were drained and left with no colour. His heart was surrounded by ice, all of the warmth drawn from him. The gods warned his parents that he may not survive, that he had to fight the ice himself and if he did not win then their efforts would be in vain and he would die anyway. After a week of nothing, the king and queen believed their only son was dead, but in the dead of night they heard him crying. They ran in and found it was snowing in his room and he was alive, his skin warm again, but had a cold touch to it. The king and queen were overjoyed, and when Jack opened his eyes they were blue and bright, his power so strong that it changed his eyes from no colour to blue.

He had heard that story so many times now, he knew the story off by heart. And even though he knew it, he never spoke it. He only ever spoke it to three children, his best friends, and he hasn’t seen them in sixteen years now, he didn’t even know if they were alive or dead.

“My king!” He heard someone yell from the ground, Jack was perched on the top of the palace he had made, it was made of stone but the stone was frozen over with frost and ice. He looked down at the small people on the ground and sighed. He jumped to his feet and stepped off the top of the building, the wind carrying him down and setting him gently on his feet.

“What?” He asked as he swung his shepherd staff around, the frost patterns on it standing out against the dark wood.

“We have a Dunbroch Eagle.” He stated, Jack looked at the man in shock, a Dunbroch Eagle? He hadn’t heard anything from them since the King had died there. “It is from their Queen, but it is not Queen Elinor’s handwriting.” He handed Jack an envelope that was sealed with the Dunbroch sigel. But Jack noticed something else, there was a scribble in the corner, Jack chuckled at the small snowflake drawing. He knew exactly who had sent this now.

“Is my sister inside?” He asked looking at the man, he shook his head. “Ok, look out for her, make sure she is safe. I am going to my study to sort this out.” He paused, “bring the Eagle.” He said with a grin before walking inside and up to his study.

He said by the window, the windows frosted over and the room covered in snow and the temperature much colder. He ripped open the envelope, the Eagle sitting on his knee as he read it.

_**“Frostie.** _

_**Drago is back.”** _

He lost his smile at the first sentence, sitting up and furrowing his brows, reading on.

_**“Stoick is dead. Drago got to him like he did with our dad’s. We need to stop this war, the four kings who started it have died now so there is no reason to carry on fighting! We need to worry about the real problem we have; Drago. He has an army of dragons under his control and he is coming for blood. I have sent letters to Hiccup as well as Zel. I am going to the island we used to hide on. Please come, I will be there by the time this letter gets to you. A treaty has to be made no matter what, or we will all die. We cannot fight Drago by ourselves, we need to fight together. Please come.** _

_**Merida"** _

Jack looked at the Eagle who looked right back, his mind trying to get things together. “Well that is just no fun.” He grumbled, petting the Eagle’s head, a snow ring appearing on its leg. “Go back to Dunbroch.” He said opening the window for the Eagle to fly through, he watched the Eagle fly away, his mind thinking of his friends. He got off the chair was walked to the desk he never used for writing, he liked sitting on it or playing games with his sister on it. He lay his back on it, looking at the frost of the roof.

He remembered how his friends looked sixteen years ago, they were all so small and so innocent. Merida was always protecting Hiccup, who was so small, he was like a toothpick. Jack always picked on Merida about it but she would ignore him or punch him. Her hair was so vibrant and colourful compared to his white hair. And then there was Zel, the youngest of all of them but the happiest. She had big green eyes that were full of joy and were the kindest eyes ever. Her long, blonde hair that was almost the length of her, and the song she always sang. He had been fascinated with her power, but he never let her use it on him because one time he touched her hair when she was singing and he couldn’t use his powers for a few minutes. So when she used to sing he would sit away from her. She was only 3 years old when the war started, but he remembered how distraught she was to be taken away from her friends, she never knew what was happening. Merida understood a little, she was only 4 turning five, and Hiccup was six so he understood more. Jack, being the oldest at eight, tried to make sure they were shielded from the parents’ fights, but then they went and started a war.

And now they were in trouble and he had to protect them, he had failed to protect them for the past sixteen years now, he had to make it up to them. He had to get to them and make sure they are ok, he couldn’t lose them like he lost his parents. He had to protect them.

He jumped off the table and grabbed his staff, walking out of the room and down the stairs to find his uncle. He found the man with all the children in Palace school, he was teaching them how to paint eggs for Easter. Jack chuckled and shook his head, walking to Aster and tapped his shoulder. “Aster, I am going to be gone for a few days.” He said as the grey haired man looked at Jack, he had tattoos on his neck that always looked like boomerangs or something like that to Jack. His green eyes looked at Jack with an odd look, his muscles moving under his shirt.

“Where are you going?” Aster asked in his thick accent, looking at Jack with furrowed brows, his tattoos moving as he spoke.

“I got a letter from Dunbroch.” Jack said plainly, watching his uncle’s expression turn to understanding, his eyebrows unfurrowing. “She needs me… I have to go help her.” He said softly, Aster nodded and placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder.

“What did the letter say?” He asked the boy softly, leading him away from the painting children. “Is it that serious that you have to leave?”

Jack nodded, “yes, I have to go! Merida wants to make a treaty, to end the war.” He explained, his white hair moving as he gestured in slight excitement, “But… Stoick is dead, Drago got to him.”

At the mention of Drago’s name Aster grabbed both of Jack’s shoulders and looked deep into his eyes, “Drago Bludvist? He’s back?” He exclaimed, Jack nodded, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “… Jack you need to get the men back here, we cannot fight off Drago Bludvist without them!”

“We can’t fight Drago by ourselves, we have to join with the other kingdoms!” Jack exclaimed, pushing Aster off of him, “Merida and the rest of them can help us! They know more about Drago than we do!” He pushed past Aster, “I leave you in charge while I am gone, look after my sister. Make sure she is safe.” With that he left, ignoring Aster’s yells for him to come back.

Jack walked out and saw his sister’s brown hair among the helmets of the guards. He flew over to her, scooping her up in his arms and hugged her, “Em, I have to go away for a while.” He said as Emma hugged his neck, playing with his white locks.

“Why? Where are you going?” She asked pulling away and looked at him, running a hand over his stubble on his cheek and jawline. She always made him shave before he could have any kind of facial hair, but he had been busy recently.

“I am going to meet with the other leaders to make a peace treaty to stop the war.” He explained, smiling as she felt his stubble, chuckling when she pulled on it. “Yeah yeah, I know. I forgot to shave again. But I think it looks very manly.” He joked with a grin.

“You look fluffy like Uncle Aster.” She said plainly with a frown, pulling on the short stubble again. “Why can’t they come here? Why do you have to leave?”

“Because we have to meet somewhere where no one can disturb us and where we are on neutral ground.” He explained, holding her close. “If they came here I would be on the defensive because I have to protect you, and if we go to Dunbroch then Merida will be on defensive because of her brothers. We all have someone we care about in our kingdoms so we need to go somewhere where we can just worry about ourselves and come to fair terms.”

Emma nodded, stroking his stubble, “ok… But will you be back?” She asked, looking at him so innocently, her brown eyes so soft but so worried.

“Of course I will, I could never leave you forever! I’m your big brother, I will always be here. All you have to do is believe.” He said poking her nose, a snowflake forming and sticking to her nose before melting. She giggled and rubbed her nose, smacking Jack softly on his neck. Jack laughed, tickling her as he held her, flipping her so she was hanging upside down, her hair hanging and blowing in the wind.

“Hey! Put me down, Jack!” She squealed between her fits of giggles, her hands holding onto Jack’s arms so she wouldn’t fall. Jack snickered and tossed her into the air, the wind catching her as he floated up to where she was, poking her stomach.

“Nah, it’s more fun up here.” He said, the wind blowing around them as it held them both up. “Will you be a good girl while I’m gone and listen to Uncle Aster?” He asked, taking Emma back in his arms, the wind lowering them to the ground. Emma nodded and threw her arms around Jack’s neck, holding onto him tightly.

“Please come home soon… You promised we would go ice skating.” She whispered, fighting back tears, he could hear it in her voice.

“I promise… You know I always keep my promises, when I get back I will take you to the pond you like and we can skate.” He said hugging her back, squeezing his eyes shut as he savoured every moment with Emma. “I love you, Emy.” He said softly, hearing her sniff in his ear.

“I love you too, Jack… Please come home…” With that Jack let go of her and the wind carried her to the ground, a smile on his face. Emma looked up at him, the wind swirling around her.

“Be good, kido.” He said before he flew into the air, the wind holding him up. He looked at her one more time before he flew off towards the island the meeting was being held at, his mind wandering again. But the one thing on his mind was that this better not fall through, he needed the war to end for Emma’s sake, he didn’t want her growing up in a war filled world anymore. And he would kill Drago himself if it meant she would never see war again. She was his everything, if she got hurt or killed because of this war then he would never forgive himself, she was his responsibility and he was going to do everything to protect her.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Rapunzel’s POV**

Zel, nicknamed Rapunzel by her three friends when she was younger, was the queen of Corona. It was the securest Kingdom, surrounded by the seas and a wall around it. The nineteen year old queen had thought of the idea of the wall when her father was still alive, before she became queen.

Rapunzel had been the queen for about one year now and she still wasn’t used to the role. She was used to people looking at her weirdly for her abnormally long hair but now they weren’t looking at her for that reason alone. More people came to be healed by her now that she was crowned, maybe they thought it was her duty to heal them, she didn’t mind but she did mind when they tried to ask for some of her hair or tried to cut it. For if it was cut then the magical quality was lost and it turned brown. One person had only succeeded in cutting her hair in her lifetime, and that person is dead now. For if you cut something that gives life, then your life will be the cost for your crime.

Zel received her gift from the gods, she was born a still born child, and her mother cried and held her for days after the birth. And when it had been a few days and she knew she had to let her daughter go. So she went down to the pool of holy water, made from the tears of the gods. She placed Zel in the water and prayed for her to have a safe journey to the other world and for the sun goddess to keep her safe. As she opened her eyes she saw a drop of sunlight fall from the night sky, landing on her lifeless child, the baby’s dark hair started turning golden blonde, the water starting to shine gold, moving towards the infant. The queen watched in shock as her daughter slowly opened her eyes and started crying, her green eyes bright and full of life. The people called it miracle but the queen knew she had been blessed by the gods and goddesses.

Since that day Rapunzel had had healing abilities, her hair the source, her long golden hair that had never been cut in her life would shine brightly as she sang a song she had known her whole life. When her mother asked where she learnt it Zel would reply that the sun sang it to her before she woke up. Zel grew up with the gift, helping as many people she could, healing the injured soldiers from the war in the infirmary. She was the jewel of Corona, but then her parents were murdered by Drago Bludvist, Rapunzel couldn’t help them, her powers weren’t strong enough to fight Drago’s evil. But she didn’t go for the revenge path, she decided to do everything in her power to help as many people as she could, and that she did.

She was kneeling in her throne room, the children of her head maid were braiding her hair like they did every day so she could move around easily without having to worry about her hair. She smiled and hummed softly as they did her hair, placing flowers wherever they felt they wanted. Rapunzel was so relaxed that she didn’t even hear a guard come in.

“My Queen, a note from the Northern Kingdom.” He said walking over to her, an envelope in his hand. Rapunzel opened her eyes and looked at it. Dunbroch, Merida must have sent it. She took it and looked at the sigel.

“Thank you, give the bird some water and food then send it back.” She said with a warm smile before going back to the envelope. The guard nodded and left, the children finishing with Rapunzel’s hair as she read.

_**“Rapunzel** _

_**I hope you still respond to that name, I am writing to you to tell you that Drago Bludvist has returned and has killed the last old King, Stoick the Vast. The four kings are dead now, we must end this war before it destroys all of us. I want to make a treaty with the four kingdoms like our grandfathers had, we have to join forces to stop Drago and his dragon army. We must stop the war against each other or there won’t be anyone to fight with. I have sent letters to Jack and Hiccup telling them I will be at the islands we used to hide on, the one we found together. You might have been too young to remember so tell whoever brings you that you want to go to the abandoned twin islands. They will know where it is. It’s time we stop this idiotic war once and for all. I hope you are well, Zel.** _

_**Merida.”** _

Zel pursed her lips, getting to her feet and felt the familiar weight against her scalp as her long braid hung to her feet. “Thank you.” She said absentminded, “Children, go to your mother.” She said before running up to her chambers, stripping her royal dress she wore that day and grabbed her most comfortable dress, pulling it on and put her casual shoes on, they were black pumps, a present from her cousins in Norway. She grabbed her satchel and pulled it over head, stuffing a few items of food in before running out of the room, her braid flowing behind her.

She found the head of guard, Eugene, and grabbed onto his arms. “Eugene, I have to go away for a few days.” She said softly, “I need you to make sure nothing falls apart.” She said looking up at him. “Can I trust you with this?”

He nodded, his brown eyes watching her in confusion, “where are you going?” He asked, looking around to make sure no one was watching.

“To make a treaty with the other kingdoms, I have been summoned by Merida and the other two kings. Drago is back, he killed Stoick.” Eugene grabbed Rapunzel’s shoulders and looked into her eyes, his expression full of worry.

“Zeldine, do you realize he is a murderer? If he finds you he will use your power for evil, he will violate you and torture you.” He exclaimed, “You can’t go by yourself, what if it is a trap?”

“It’s isn’t a trap, Eugene!” Zel exclaimed, pulling away from his grip, holding onto her satchels strap. “I trust them! They wouldn’t hurt me.”

“We are at _war_ with them! What part of that do you not understand?” He said in an angry tone, stepping towards him. He was right, they were at war with them but that doesn’t mean that Merida, Jack and Hiccup are like their parents… They were her best friends and the letter didn’t seem threatening.

She took a deep breath and stood straight, “I am giving you an order, I am not asking. You will look after the kingdom while I am gone or I will get someone else too. They will not hurt me because they are good people, they are my friends.” She was about to walk off before she looked at him once more, “I am your queen, Eugene. Listen to your Queen.” She left him standing there, glaring at her back as she walked.

She organized a small boat to take her to Abandoned Twin Islands, she had her faithful chameleon, Pascal on her shoulder, looking around eagerly. She was sitting in the boat, her captain not speaking, just steering the boat towards the islands. After half an hour of rowing, the captain spoke. “There is your islands, my queen.” He said, Rapunzel looked up and saw the islands ahead. They were covered in forests and vegetation. She smiled, very blurred memories showing up in her head as she looked up at the island. She couldn’t remember anything enough to know exactly what they were about, but she knew that these islands were important to her.

She was about to speak but it was stopped as a dragon flew past their boat and into the forest, disappearing as fast as it had come. The water around the boat became rough for a second as the creature flew past, the boat rocking. Rapunzel clung to the edge of the boat as the boat settled, the captain rowed to the edge of the water. Rapunzel jumped out and smiled widely, “Thank you, sir. I will find another way home, I may be gone for a few days.” He nodded before he started rowing off. Rapunzel walked up the shore and into the forest.

She felt the wood of the bark with her hand, smiling at the roughness. She turned to another tree and noticed it had frost growing on it. She blinked and stepped closer to it, feeling it with her finger. It was cold against her warm skin, she narrowed her eyes and examined it, a small smirk on her face. “Wow…” she whispered softly.

* * *

 

**Jack’s POV**

Jack sat on the tree branch, watching Rapunzel with a smile. She was even more beautiful than he remembered, her hair so long he could wrap all four of them in it, her green eyes full of life and so bright. She looked just like she had when she was younger, only now she was grown up. His heart had skipped a beat when he saw her in the boat.

He chuckled at her praise for his work, jumping down from the tree next to her. “Look what the sun dropped off.” He teased with a grin, Rapunzel spun around, her eyes wide in fear and surprise. She narrowed them and looked at Jack questioningly, as if she was trying to remember something.

“Jack?” She asked softly, her voice feeling like smooth music to his ears. He smiled and nodded, his blue eyes examining her. She was slim, the dress she was wearing went to just below her knees. Her hair was in a thick braid, flowers of all colours decorating it. She smiled widely and bit her lips.

“Hey Rapunzel, or do you prefer Zel or Zeldine?” He asked with a chuckle, remembering the awful name her parents gave her.

“I like Rapunzel, no one calls me it but I still reply to it.” She said shyly, “I actually changed it to my middle name.”

He nodded, “well, Punz, it is great to see you again.” He said pulling her into a hug, she was a head shorter than him, his chin fitting perfectly on the top of her head as she wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tight. “Now, let’s go meet the two ‘warriors’”, he air quoted, “and start this treaty.” He said lifting her into his arms with a squeak on her end, her arms gripping onto his tunic. He took off into the air, the wind swirling around them. Rapunzel gasped at first but was soon laughing as her hair blew around them, the flowers falling out and flew around them in the wind. Jack chuckled and looked down at her, a smile on his face. He finally found her, he finally found the girl he had been waiting to hold for years now. It was so amazing that he couldn’t even believe it was happening, it was unreal. Rapunzel looked up at him and smile, his heart beating faster as he met those green orbs.

“Watch out!” He heard Rapunzel screech before he felt the impact. They had slammed into someone, falling back onto the ground. Jack was still holding Rapunzel in his arms, he stood up and placed her feet on the floor. He blinked before turning around, seeing a soaked redhead, her soaking hair covering her face. “uh-oh.” He breathed as he realized who he had hit, smirking at the sight, forgetting he would be probably punched for this.

“Jack!” The girl exclaimed in anger, pushing her hair out of her face and stood up, her bow around her shoulders and her dress soaked through. She glared at him with very familiar, piercing blue eyes that made him shiver.

* * *

 

**Merida’s POV**

Merida was waiting on the island patiently by a pond they used to swim in, she remembered fighting with Jack to get him into the water but he never went in, he was too scared he would freeze it. Merida had changed into her dress, not wanting to seem threatening to her old friends. She wore her usual style dress, it was long and dark green, her boots hidden under the length. She had her sheath of arrows strapped to her waist and her bow across her chest and back. She still had her chain mail under her dress still, she didn’t want to be totally unprotected, she needed some protection just in case. Her sword and other armour was hidden on the island so if she needed them she could run and get them.

She looked around at the forest she had hidden in so many times as a young lass, the forest was denser now and the light hardly made it through the thick roof of leaves that the tall trees carried. The air was thick and wet, but it wasn’t cold or hot either, it was somewhere in between. Merida smiled small, feeling at peace in the forest from her childhood, her body relaxing and her mind letting go of the worries she always had back home. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, taking in the smell of pine needles and rain, the smell mixing together easily to make a smell so delicious to Merida; it felt like a safe haven.

Her peaceful state was ruined when she heard a branch crack before the leaves started thrashing about. Merida spun around and loaded her bow, drawing back as she looked around for the source of the noise. The noise got louder before something hit Merida to the floor, her bow being knocked to the ground away from her. Her arms were pinned by a giant black creature, his slit green eyes glaring at her as he growled. She widened her eyes, squirming from under the dragon, trying to get her arms free.

“Toothless! Stop!” She heard a man yell, his voice oddly familiar to a voice she had heard a long time ago. The dragon huffed in Merida’s face before climbing off of her. Merida sat up and rubbed her arms, looking around for her bow. “Merida?” She looked back to see a man had jumped off the dragon’s back, his face covered by a helmet/mask. Merida blinked, was that Hiccup? The man pulled his helmet off and Merida gasped, it was him... He was… different.

“Hiccup…?” She asked sitting up and dusted her hands. He nodded, walking to her and offered his hand. She looked at it before taking it, being pulled up to her feet. His strength surprised her. She let go of his hand slowly, dusting her dress off and picking up her bow and sheathed her arrow. She looked back at Hiccup and saw him looking at her, his green eyes examining her. She would usually cover herself when a man did this but she knew Hiccup wasn’t like other men… She hoped.

“You’ve… changed!” He said looking away with a blush, she was confused why he would blush after looking at her?

“Aye, so have you.” She said softly, noticing him smile small when she spoke, was he usually like this? “You aren’t a wee lamb anymore.” She chuckled softly, rubbing her arm nervously. She glanced at him and chewed the inside of her cheek, examining him. He was tall, at least six foot one, slim but muscled, she could see them in the gaps of his armour, under his shirt. He had shaggy hair, the back longer than the rest. He had more freckles than when she last saw him, they suited him. He still had his crooked teeth, making his smile even sweeter and adorable. She examined his suit and her eyes landed on his metal leg, she furrowed her brows, he had lost his leg?

“Yeah,” he chuckled, “all grown up, not a fishbone anymore.” He flexed his arms playfully, shaking his head and dropping his arms while he laughed with Merida who was chortling at him.

“Aye, you finally grew into your raw vikingness you spoke about.” She remembered him saying he was just saving his strength to fight with his raw vikingness, bottling it up for when he grew up. She smiled at him as he looked at her surprised.

“You remember that?” He asked in a soft tone, his eyes softening as he moved closer to her, looking down at her. “That was sixteen maybe seventeen years ago!” He exclaimed with a crooked grin.

“I remember, I remember most of our conversations.” She said with a shy shrug, pushing her hair out of her face. She looked up and met Hiccup’s eyes, a smile spreading on her face as she looked into his eyes, communicating wordlessly with him. She knew he missed her, she missed him too. He was about to say something but was stopped when something pushed Merida onto him, causing him to fall back into the pond, Merida landing on top of him with a scream.

Merida coughed and lifted her hair away from her face, pushing up to sitting. She coughed and wiped her eyes, slipping off of Hiccup and sitting next to him, looking down at her soaked dress and hair. Hiccup sat up when she got off of him, frowning down at his wet armour.

Merida looked up and saw a mad standing there with white hair and a smirk on his face. She growled and stood up, glaring up at the man. “Jack!” She exclaimed angrily, turning to help Hiccup up but slipped on the mud and landed on Hiccup again, her head and hands on his chest. She went bright red and sat up, scrambling off of him as he sat back up spitting water out of his mouth and coughing. Merida pushed her hair away from her face and saw Jack was laughing, a girl standing behind him, looking over his shoulder sheepishly. Merida frowned, she got to her feet and helped Hiccup to his feet successfully this time, clinging to his arm as he helped her out of the water.

Once on the dry land Merida walked over to Jack and punched him in the stomach, “Arsehole!” She exclaimed, shivering softly as she stood there. He slumped over, clutching his stomach in pain.

“Why did you do that?” He exclaimed in pain, stumbling away from her, the girl behind Jack being shown. Merida blinked, this girl was beautiful. She had bright emerald eyes, tanned skin and long blonde golden hair, really long hair, it was in a thick braid down her back to her ankles, flowers decorating it. She blinked again, could this be…?

“Rapunzel?” She asked softly, the girl smiled and nodded, even her teeth were perfect. They were perfect white and perfectly straight, except her front teeth did seem a bit bigger than usual.

“Hi, Merida.” Zel said softly, running over to the wet queen and hugged her tight. Merida blinked before hugging her back. Punz let go first, smiling at her before she looked down at her now wet dress. Merida noticed she was wearing a corset, Merida didn’t know how Rapunzel survived in those things, she wasn’t wearing a corset because she hated them.

Merida took a step back as Zel started bouncing around excitedly, Jack back next to her. Merida noticed Jack smirking at her and frowned, “what are you grinning at, Frost?” She asked with a scowl.

Jack shrugged, “oh, well I can just see that you aren’t wearng a corset.” He said smirking. Merida went bright red and looked down, seeing her nubs were hard because of the cold and were pointing in her dress. She covered her breasts and glared at Jack.

“Here.” Hiccup said behind her, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, glaring at Jack too. Merida looked up at him and noticed the look, wondering what was going through his head. She pulled the blanket around herself to cover up, grateful for Hiccup.

“Thanks.” She said softly, looking down embarrassedly. Rapunzel walked over to her and placed an arm around her, frowning at Jack.

“That isn’t nice Jack. You are on wood duty.” She said sternly.

“What?” Jack exclaimed, “that isn’t fair!”

“Yes it is, now go and get us some wood for a fire.” Jack frowned before flying off to get wood. Rapunzel smiled and let go of Merida and started sorting out a place for a fire. Merida and Hiccup helped as much as they could as they tried to dry off, Merida giving up with the blanket and placed it on Toothless who gurgled happily. The stones were set up and two logs were found to sit on. Merida sat on one of them Toothless sitting behind it happily, waiting for Hiccup to sit there. Zel sat on the other log as Jack placed the wood in the place for the fire. He sat next to Rapunzel and smiled at her. Hiccup sat next to Merida and smiled down at her before looking down at his hands. Toothless lit the fire and curled around the log, his beck pressed against Merida and Hiccup’s backs.

They all spoke for hours, telling of their tales. Hiccup telling them of the battle with the red death and losing his leg, Jack telling about his fight with Drago when he appeared in his kingdom. Merida didn’t speak up, but as Rapunzel explained her parents disappearance Merida bit her lip.

“And you, red? I heard you are queen now, what happened?” Jack asked, they had moved to the floor, resting against the logs. Zel had her head on Jack’s shoulder, a clump of hair in her hands as she untangled it.

Merida licked her lips and swallowed, “Oh, uh, well you all know the story of my father’s death, he was killed by Drago’s dragons… But a few months later we were attacked by the dragons again.” She paused, feeling Hiccup’s eyes on her now, she didn’t look up from her hands, her shoulder and Hiccup’s against each other. “My brothers got cornered and when I got there me one brother, Harris was already half eaten.” She swallowed again, “my other brothers, Hamish and Hubert, only escaped because the monstrous nightmare was eating our brother.” Rapunzel gasped, Jack’s smirk gone and Hiccup stayed silent. “My mother went mad when she found me with his body after I killed the dragon… She grew insane, endangering the kingdom so I locked her up and took over the crown. My brothers never recovered from what they saw, they speak now but they hardly do.” She felt a hand on her own and saw it was Hiccup’s, he took her hand in his with a sympathetic smile.

“I’m so sorry… That is awful.” He said softly, his eyes looking down at their clasped hands before back up at her eyes. Merida smiled small, lacing her fingers with his, not saying anything as she fought back tears.

“Oh Merida, that is awful!” Rapunzel said sadly, smiling at her sadly. Jack looked at her with an expression she couldn’t read, he looked sad, but also angry.

“It’s ok, everyone has lost someone.” Merida said wiping her eyes quickly, “I just want to end the pain and suffering now, and stop this war.”

“Agreed,” Hiccup said, looking over at Jack, “Drago has returned and we need to stop him for good this time.” Merida wondered why he was only looking at Jack, Jack looked back just as seriously, “We need help each other, join our forces and rejoin our kingdoms.”

“Yeah, but you know what happened before.” Jack and Hiccup were the oldest and male so they were told of the old war stories and knew more than the girls, so Merida was desperate to hear what they were talking about.

“It is a chance we have to try or we will be eliminated. The time for talking with the mad man is over, we need to stop him and stop him now. The men will just have to put aside their differences.” Hiccup said sternly, squeezing Merida’s hand slightly as he spoke.

“Put aside their differences? They have been at war for years now, it will be a bit more difficult than just ‘putting aside differences’.” Jack replied with furrowed brows, sitting up slightly. “They have lost families, loved ones just like us. They wont be happy to join forces.”

“Are you sure it is them and not you?” Merida snapped, looking up at Jack finally understanding. “My men all have a choice, they can fight or they can go home, but if they don’t fight then what home will they go to when the enemy destroys it.” Jack went silent sitting back again. “We may have our differences, we may have lost our families, but we need to save everything that we have left.” Hiccup looked at her, “Cause if we don’t then who will? What will our children grow up with if we even live long enough to have children? If Drago gets through, he will enslave the men, slaughter the children and take the woman as sex objects.” Merida noticed Hiccup’s hand tighten on hers slightly, “We will not survive at all if we don’t join forces, I don’t give a fuck about the soldiers differences, I am a fighter too, I have been at war for a year before my father died, and I can tell you that what I saw will be one thousand times worse with Drago. He will eliminate us from our homes, take us and make us wish we were dead.”

Jack looked at Merida in surprise, Rapunzel clung to Jack’s arm looking scared, and Hiccup was looking down at Merida with admiration in his eyes. She looked up at him and swallowed, “are you in?” She asked softly.

He nodded, “I was in when I read your letter.” He replied softly, Toothless gurgling behind them, curling around them and pushed them closer. Merida chuckled and didn’t mind, she liked being close to Hiccup, she felt safe with him close.

Merida looked at Rapunzel, “Punz?” She asked softly.

“I’m in! I am tired of this silly war, and Drago took my parents and probably killed them so I am in.” she smiled widely, sitting straight and crossed her legs.

“Frost?” Merida asked with a raised brow and narrowed eyes.

Jack was silent for a second before nodding slowly, “fine… But if your men start fighting with mine then I will allow them to do the same.” He said with a huff, sitting back as Zel clung to his arm happily.

“Good, so we are all agreed. We can write up the treaty tomorrow, it’s getting late.” Hiccup said as he tossed another log onto the fire. They were all quiet for a few minutes before Hiccup spoke again, “has it really been sixteen years?” He asked softly, the only other sound was the fire crackling and the owls and other creatures in the forest.

“It doesn’ae feel like it…” Merida said sleepily, her eyes on hers and Hiccup’s clasped hands. “It feel shorter…”

“Maybe because not much actually has happened in the last sixteen years beside war.” Jack said as he settled down against the log, Rapunzel undoing her hair and putting it over them to keep them warm. “Just think about it, what exactly has happened in the past sixteen years that is common between us all.”

Merida bit her lip, “family members dying.”

“Taking the crown.” Hiccup said softly, watching the fire as he and Merida leant against Toothless.

“Sadness.” Rapunzel spoke up, making all of them look at her. “Well think of it, we have all had sadness these past sixteen years. We have had death, yes, but the main trait of all of our memories after the war started are pain and sadness. But before the war we were happy, I cant remember much before the war but I do know I was happy.”

Merida looked down, she had been so happy too, she had friends, a whole family and there was no smell of decaying bodies in the air. “I was happy… The happiest I have ever been.”

“Me too… But it was ripped away because of our fathers.” Hiccup said softly, his voice sounding different. Merida looked at him and saw his sad eyes, she squeezed his hand supportively, moving closer so her head was almost on his shoulder. He looked down at her and smiled small.

“Well, we can stop it and keep our loved ones and our people from suffering like we did. We can learn from our fathers’ mistakes.” Jack said drowsily. “Now go to sleep, it’s almost midnight.”

They all said their goodnights, Rapunzel and Jack under Rapunzel’s hair and Hiccup and Merida under the blanket Merida had used before, their hands grasped and Merida’s head slowly resting on Hiccup’s shoulder as she slept deeper. All of them went to sleep except Hiccup, he was awake, watching them all sleep, falling asleep eventually, resting his head on Merida’s head.


End file.
